North Wales Police Web Chat
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Posts
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Question about speed cameras…
“I saw on wrexham.com’s twitter the other day that a speed camera was parked in front of a bus stop. i’ve seen one previously on a pavement and parked near the driveway of someones house. where can speed cameras legally park and who can we report them to if they are obstructing an entrance?”
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North Wales Police are committed to reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured in collisions, targeting resources at casualty reduction and working with partners to improve road safety.
We have a robust strategy around enforcing the ‘Fatal 5’ offences which are failing to wear a seatbelt, drink and drug driving, dangerous driving including unnecessary risk taking, speeding and using a mobile phone whilst driving.‘Gosafe’ is a national initiative in Wales and the vans are directed by road collision statistics. They do not have any exemptions in terms of the law and would be expected to park legally, however they occasionally have special permissions in order to locate the vans in appropriate locations. Should there be any complaints these should be directed to the http://WWW.GOSAFE.ORG
Sgt Simon Kneale
Not a specific webchat Q but Steph asked via twitter “Has anyone else noticed to sudden lack of benches in Rhosddu today?” and thought would pop it here to see if the 5-0 knew what was going down in Rhosddu?
Wrexham.com put the latest CCTV pics online and it had the usual replies about quality etc. A talking point did emerge that could be formed into a question: are CCTV images of shoplifters easy targets, where are the CCTV stills and videos of other crimes? A follow up point is why certain shop brands are appearing regularly, and why are they not being asked to do more rather than lean on police to sort problems after the fact.
[quote quote=101984]Another emailed Q “There have been reports in the press that some forces don’t investigate all burglaries , one force even stated they only investigated burglaries on one side of a street either odd or even numbers can you assure the people of Wrexham that you investigate all burglaries? What is your success rate in solving the crime of burglary.
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I also read these reports from around the Country and I get as concerned as you.
Our year to date performance in Wrexham town for burglary (dwelling) shows a reduction in incidents reported of 27.2% (37 fewer victims). With regard to burglary (other than dwellings) is a reduction of 21.5% (41 fewer victims) is recorded.We give priority to certain crime types – burglary being one – becasuse these are the type offences that cut into the hearts of communities. That is why I find it difficult sometimes to resource approaching 900 shopliftings here in this area each year which takes a huge amnount of police time to deal with.
It is a fact though that there has been a shift in the types of crimes being reported in recent years. When I joined 23 years ago I cannot ever recall dealing with computer, or “cyber crime”. Last year, nationally, the amount of cyber crime reported accounted for more than 50% of all crime reported. These are not solely fraud or money offences but also child protection type offences and have to be investigated swiftly and correctly in order to prevent further harm to victims. that investigation is labour intensive.
Due to the financial cut backs and the shift in crime types being reported it is inevitable that we will have to work differently, and provide our service in areas that traditionally we were not involved with (child protection matters as mentioned above being one), although I do not forsee the day here when we will act as described in your question.I hope that helps!
Paul Wycherley.
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Email Q in : “recently there seems to have been an increase in the number of bike thefts in Wrexham. has anyone actually been arrested for the thefts and what are north wales police doing to prevent these sorts of thefts from the town”
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We have seen an increase in the theft of bicycles over the past few months, analysis of which has shown that there is no pattern in terms of times or locations. The owners have usually secured their bikes but we have identified a theme with the standard of locks being used and the ease of overcoming them. I would urge owners to invest in the best possible locks, and being a keen mountain biker I would not dream of having anything less on my own bike. It sems a small investment for what is normally a high value bike.
We have recently launched an operation to tackle the issue and this is including officers on mountain bikes, plain clothed officers and partnership working with various establishments. Arrests have been made and bikes seized but we have released little detail as the operation is ongoing. I am determined to catch those responsible for bike thefts and would urge anybody who sees anything suspicious to report it immediately. Likewise if you have any information as to where these bikes are going I can assure you that we will act upon it.
We have also been working with our local establishments and I am aware that Wrexham Maelor have certainly reviewed their security arrangements which has seen a decrease in cycle theft. Often we can design out the risk of theft and this is something that I will be promoting with the local authority and other premises suffering bicycle theft.
Our community safety team are happy to security mark bicycles and if you contact the front counter at Wrexham Police station they will be happy to provide details. Alternatively keep an eye on the tweets of Sgt S Richards who is the community safety sergeant and often promotes bike marking schemes.
Sgt Simon Kneale
[quote quote=101988]Not a specific webchat Q but Steph asked via twitter “Has anyone else noticed to sudden lack of benches in Rhosddu today?” and thought would pop it here to see if the 5-0 knew what was going down in Rhosddu?
These have been removed by the Council following repeated reports of them being used primarily by persons who are causing anti social bahaviour.
Paul Wycherley.
Following on from that – Several people have asked questions around Rhosddu (aside from benches) regarding anti social behaviour problems. The common themes are about displacement of problems to Rhosddu from other areas (bans from town centre contributing?). Another speaking of displacement of problems mentioned he thought issues from Rhosddu were now happening in Acton Park. Are the problems in Rhosddu being tackled, and by doing so is that creating issues elsewhere in the area?
[quote quote=101989]Wrexham.com put the latest CCTV pics online and it had the usual replies about quality etc. A talking point did emerge that could be formed into a question: are CCTV images of shoplifters easy targets, where are the CCTV stills and videos of other crimes? A follow up point is why certain shop brands are appearing regularly, and why are they not being asked to do more rather than lean on police to sort problems after the fact.
We supply picturs to assist with investigations. I accept that the quality is variable due to the types of systems certain persons/businesses have installed. We do not only issue pictures of the shoplifting offences.
Repeated shoplifting is a massive problem for us as it causes huge demand. Historically store detectives and security guards were judged on their success by how many they caught, not how many they stopped – so they would watch the offence take place then detain persons. Each one reported to us takes on average 2 and a half hours to deal with. We get around 900 offences reported each year so you can now see the massive amount of resource this takes to result. We have engaed with stores to change this mindset from one of detect to prevent and it is hoped that that will keep the numbers down. So far this year we have received 5.5% less instances than in the same period as last year.
J P Wycherley.
Cut backs have been referred to in one answer above, so here are a couple of related questions:
“In the light of budget cuts how safe are the jobs of the local PCSO’s? They have become the ears and eyes of the police in the locality, and too many local residents they are the first link with the police.” which could link to a question from Janet who asked “Why are they so short of staff?”
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Following on from that – Several people have asked questions around Rhosddu (aside from benches) regarding anti social behaviour problems. The common themes are about displacement of problems to Rhosddu from other areas (bans from town centre contributing?). Another speaking of displacement of problems mentioned he thought issues from Rhosddu were now happening in Acton Park. Are the problems in Rhosddu being tackled, and by doing so is that creating issues elsewhere in the area?
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I think we have covered a number of the issues posed in terms of Rhosddu earlier in the webinar which should address this. We have certainly not identified any increase in problems in Acton Park but will monitor closely if you feel this is the case. We are fully aware of the issue of displacement and this is why we work hard to tackle the root causes rather than just move the problem on. However, we cannot allow hotspot areas to continue and will always react to community feedback / complaints. This is why banning orders have been implemented on certain individuals following complaints in the town centre and once the courts invoke these orders we are empowered to support the conditions so as to prevent further harm to our communities.
As Wrexham.com has previously published, a Public Space Protection Order is currently undergoing consultation and this will provide conditions that will assist in the reduction of ASB in particular areas such as Rhosddu. We work closely with the local authorities and as mentioned previously will carry out interventions such as removal of benches and telephone boxes, as seen in Rhosddu Park area.
Sgt S.Kneale
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